Before they left Lascelles arrived. He had been summoned by Mr. Bodilly, and he came prepared to give Mrs. Bodilly the last rites. As the boy with the light and the bell approached the stairs, Sir Joshua whispered to Marlowe:
“Your vicar seems very certain of her death.”
Marlowe shrugged his shoulders. “We haven’t saved a case, you know.”
The post-mortem yielded no result. That evening Marlowe dined with Sir Joshua at the village inn, and after dinner the great physician told him of his suspicions. Marlowe listened at first angrily, then with an incredulous horror.
“It can’t be. The man lives for his parish, I tell you. Why, he would die for it.”
“Yes: I believe he would. Had I found what I looked for, he certainly would.”
“But, my dear sir, there isn’t a trace of any known drug. There’s no trace of anything.”
“No. I had expected to find—but never mind. I have a great deal of experience, Dr. Marlowe, and I am convinced that your vicar has been murdering his parishioners. And to-night I am coming to tell him so. I will walk home with you. You may be present or not, as you please.”
4
Lascelles looked up a little wearily when Sir Joshua had finished speaking.